


the only way out of here is the way i've avoided for all my life

by synthiesia



Series: What Makes a Family - Until Dawn Pack Au [9]
Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mike-Centric, No Proofreading We Die Like Men, Other, Pack AU, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Team as Family, Violence, Werewolves, Wolf Pack, protective mike
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26024155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/synthiesia/pseuds/synthiesia
Summary: There are tales of place in the woods that‘s remained unchanged through time. Where wolves roam in half-forms, and still practice the ways of the old laws. It’s the sort of stories parents tell their pups to keep them from wandering off too far. To keep them from exploring the woods when they started to feel fearless and invincible.There’s a place in the woods time hasn’t touched. Where’ll you’ll get trapped if you’re not careful.Alternatively: When Jess goes looking for the guy who turned her, and Josh, Mike, and Emily go after, they find themselves in the valley of the old ways, where the laws are simple. You fight your way out, and the strongest survive. But the price Mike will pay to get them out won't just be blood.Until Dawn Werewolf Pack AU
Relationships: Emily Davis & Mike Munroe, Mike Munroe & Josh Washington, Sam Giddings & Mike Munroe
Series: What Makes a Family - Until Dawn Pack Au [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/435502
Comments: 7
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is,,,,the fic that was the genesis of the series. yes i realize it's three years late. but like,,,it's here, and maybe it's even worth the wait ?
> 
> no but like for real i am actually super proud of how this turned out, even if it's late and barely relevant anymore.

_There are tales of place in the woods that time hasn’t touched. Where wolves roam in half-forms, and still practice the ways of the old laws._

_It’s the sort of stories parents tell their pups to keep them from wandering off too far. To keep them from exploring the woods when they started to feel fearless and invincible._

_There’s a place in the woods time hasn’t touched. Where’ll you’ll get trapped if you’re not careful._

* * *

It had been a week since Mike, Emily, Jess, and Josh had returned, and anyone could see that things were still not okay. Josh hovered, never more than a foot away from Mike, Emily, or Sam herself at any given moment, but flinched whenever Mike’s voice raised above a whisper. 

Mike snapped at everyone who even so much as looked at him. Sam had seen him absolutely lose it at Chris on no less than three separate occasions, and one time when she caught him off guard, he _growled_ at her.

The first couple days she excused it. Something had clearly happened in the two weeks they were gone. They came back tired, and hurt, and defensive, and Mike had been soaked to the bone in blood that she knew belonged to none of them. Something had happened, something they wouldn’t talk about. And she was willing to let that go at first. But only because she expected them to come around, expected them to tell her what happened.

They didn’t. Instead, the dark circles underneath Mike’s eyes grew worse and worse, and he growled whenever he was startled, or anyone got too close to him, or anyone even _looked at_ Josh.

It was the fourth time he growled at Chris, when Chris had just slung his arm around Josh’s shoulders casually, pulling him down on the couch only to find himself being hauled up by Mike, who looked positively _feral_ , that Sam finally decided enough was enough.

She went straight to the source, first. Not then- she knew better than to try and have a rational conversation with Mike when he was amped up, tense with this much alpha energy. 

No, she waited till later, when things had settled back down, and then she corned him in the kitchen. She knew he wouldn’t want an audience, and most everyone was outside.

“What happened while you guys were gone.” It wasn’t a question, not really, more a statement, a demand of an explanation for his behavior. One she knew he would answer- why wouldn’t he? There had to be a reason he was acting the way he did, and if she could understand she could help.

“Nothing happened.” His jaw was locked, his gaze harsh and cold and distant in a way she didn’t quite understand. She raised an eyebrow in response.

“Really. You expect me to believe that.”

“It’s the _truth_.” He was tenser than she had expected him to be about this. Every inch of his body was held tight, like he was raring for a fight. He hadn’t been this tense, this uncooperative with her, since he’d first shown up at the house a few years back, and it _worried her_.

“Mike…” She warned. She didn’t need to let any command bleed into her voice, not yet, she didn’t think he was that far gone yet, but clearly he was getting there.

He just shook his head, his jaw clenched, teeth gritting. She would be willing to bet his fangs were out and he was holding back a growl. 

“ _Nothing happened_.” It was half a growl itself, and she would have pushed it, but over his shoulder she could see Chris appear, knew if she wasn’t careful this could turn into a full on fight.

She wasn’t worried about losing the fight. She was worried about the consequences of what would happen when _he did_.

Instead, she formulated a new plan. Clearly Mike wasn’t going to give her anything- she needed to ask someone else. She needed more information before she went back to him. And she knew who could be trusted to give it to her.

She corned Josh the next day, when it was her he was hovering by.

“So what happened while you guys were gone?” It was asked point blank, but without any judgement, with little inflection at all. Something had clearly happened, anyone could see that, but Sam still needed to know what exactly that was.

She never thought Josh would try and lie to her.

“N-nothing happened, why would you- I mean-” Josh ran a hand through his hair, looking anywhere but at her. She frowned ever so slightly- it wouldn’t do good to spook him, not when he was clearly on edge, but she was displeased that he felt the need to lie to her. “Nothing happened.” His voice was still a little shaky, and he wouldn’t look at her, but there was a resolve in his voice that she knew, a resolve that meant unless she was really willing to push this, push him, she wasn’t going to get anything out of him.

She didn’t need to push him. She still had other people she could ask, and he clearly seemed nervous about the whole thing. She was starting to get nervous, too. They seemed fine, on the outside, but clearly whatever had happened had damaged something inside of them. 

And she needed to know what had happened if she was going to be able to help them.

She ended up corning Jess and Emily together.

They seemed incredibly hesitant to talk to her, looking between each other when she asked them to take a walk with her. By this point, she knew whatever had happened, they all thought it was better to avoid discussing, pretending instead that it just didn’t happen.

But that wasn’t going to work for her.

And so, walking with the two of them, she leveled with them in a way she hadn’t thought she would when she set out to ask what was going on.

“Mike is about one bad incident away from completing snapping.” She got right to the point- it was better not to bullshit the pack. “I need to know why, and neither him nor Josh seem to want to tell me.” She turned to Jess. “What happened after you left? What happened when they found you?”

Jess looked at the ground, and Emily cut in for her. “It’s not…” She wilted a little as Sam turned to her, clearly nervous, before straightening her spine and steeling her jaw. Sam was impressed, and a little proud. 

“It’s not Jess’s fault.”

“I didn’t say it was.” Sam didn’t blame any of them. But Jess had disappeared without warning, Josh hot on her tail, causing Mike and Emily to have to go looking, and well. Might as well start at the source.

“You know…how I was turned.” Jess’s voice was hesitant. Sam could understand why- Jess’s story, while unfortunately not uncommon in the wolf world, was not a good one. “I…caught wind, that the guy, Bryan, that he was nearby, that other pack mentioned him, and I. I…just wanted to investigate, I don’t know, I just felt like I…” She trailed off, but Sam knew where she was going with that. It was a thought they all had at some point, when their problems reared their ugly heads.

“You felt you needed to do this on your own.”

“He _did this_ too me.” Jess’s voice was harsh now, bitter. “And I- don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret this. Meeting you guys. The pack. But he never gave me the choice, he just turned me and left without explaining, and I don’t know, I guess I just thought…” She trailed off again, looking away. Sam understood what she didn’t say.

“You thought we wouldn’t understand.” She thought about it, before amending it, making sure to keep her voice judgement-less. Blameless. She didn’t blame Jess for this thought process. “You thought _I_ wouldn’t understand.”

“No! I…I don’t know. I just felt like….” Jess’s head shot up, before she lowered it again, shaking it slightly. “I hadn’t been thinking about him at all. Hadn’t in a while. But I heard he might be in the area and I just…lost it. I wasn’t in my right mind, I don’t know, and when Josh showed up I just was so grateful to have someone with me, I shouldn’t have let him come, I should have made him go back home. I just, I wasn’t thinking, and I know that doesn’t excuse it, it’s my fault we were-”

Sam cut her off, placing a hand on her arm. “Whatever happened next wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known what was going to happen.” Jess nodded mutely, before surging forward. Sam wrapped her arms around her and looked to Emily to continue.

“You sent Mike and I after them.” It was true. They’d woken up the next day to Jess and Josh gone, a halfheartedly penned note from Jess that she needed to _take care of something_ , a second note from Josh saying he _went to keep her company and help out_ , so Sam had sent Mike and Emily, figuring they could handle that issue, and she and Chris could wrap up the issue at home. She hadn’t realized it would be…whatever it became. “We were hot on their scent for a while, we thought whatever it was we could handle it. We didn’t,” Emily faltered for a moment.

“We didn’t have any way of knowing what we were walking into.”

* * *

Jess hadn’t been actively seeking to find her boy who turned her. The opportunity sort of just fell in her lap.

That wasn’t to say she hadn’t thought about it. But she had a pack now. She had people who cared about her. She didn’t mind, now, being a werewolf. But that’s not what it was about.

It was about consent, and the lack thereof that he had gotten when he did this to her. It was about taking responsibility for your actions. He’d turned her and then _left_ , left her to fend for herself, confused and afraid.

She wasn’t actively seeking him out. She wasn’t even really thinking about him.

But then she caught wind of him. They were dealing with a minor dispute, their pack, because another pack was trying to move in on them. It was nothing major- Sam could probably have handled the entire thing quietly, with just Mike by her side, but she liked to involve the whole pack in matters like this, get their input.

But then the other pack made mention of a pack they had passed by, a pack with an alpha named _Bryan Montgomery_ , and well.

How many wolves could possible have that name?

The answer was _not many_.

Jess had obsessed over it the rest of the day. She didn’t mention it to anyone, didn’t know how she _could_ , but she thought about it. Thought about what he had done to her, thought about him changing her, abandoning her to her fear and confusion. Thought about him turning her without warning, without her getting any say in the matter. And in the end, she knew she had to do something. She knew she had to face him.

She didn’t want to bother Sam or the others with this, not when there were other things going on. She couldn’t, couldn’t put that on the pack. This was her burden to bear. She needed answers, and for him to confront his actions. She needed him to _take responsibility_. But the pack didn’t need that burden, and she wasn’t going to ask them to share it, not with everything else going on.

Instead, she’d left in the middle of the night. She’d left a note, penned while she was halfway out the door, saying she wouldn’t be gone long, that she had something she needed to take care of. She didn’t want them to worry, but she needed to go now, needed to face him and make him take responsibility for what he did to her.

Now that the option was there, in front of her, it wouldn’t leave her along until she did it.

She hadn’t expected Josh to wake up and follow her. But a couple hours into her journey, when she’d stopped to rest for a little bit, he appeared. And she hadn’t even had the heart to be upset. She felt all out of sorts, and didn’t mind the company on what she had a feeling was going to be a decently long journey. At least a couple of days.

All she knew was that he was northeast of their location. That he had his own pack, and… _something_. She hadn’t really been paying attention during the meeting, not till she heard his name. She’d missed the first part of what the other wolves had said. 

But it didn’t matter. She was going to make him face what he did to her. She was going to get her answers, for why he felt it was okay to just turn her and _leave_.

They say hindsight is 20/20. But she hadn’t grown up in the woods. She didn’t know the stories.

She had no way of seeing this coming.

* * *

It took _days_ to find Jess and Josh.

Now granted, Mike and Emily never lost track of the trail. And they moved _fast_. But it still took days before they reached their destination. And when they reached it…they hadn’t been sure, at first, where they were. 

Both they were both raised in the woods. They remembered the stories, even if that’s all they had thought they were at the time. _Stories_ , meant to scary pups into staying close to the pack.

But there was no denying the smell of blood in the air. The sounds of a never-ending fight occurring below. 

There was a valley, surrounded by harsh rock edges. It was a huge, and sprawling, hidden away in the mountains. 

It was the old valley. A place you could get trapped, if you weren’t careful. A place time hadn’t changed.

And it was where Jess and Josh were.

Emily was nervous, Mike could tell. Even if she’d never say it. They both knew the stories, about the old ways. About the blood that was shed, about the rules of the fight. He knew a little about her life before Sam, knew her pack had _followed_ the old ways, to some degree. But not like this. Not the widespread bloodshed law, where you fought for yours and your pack’s survival day in and day out. 

In hindsight, Mike should have been nervous too, but he wasn’t. He’d never met a fight he couldn’t win.

He hadn’t known what the cost of these fights would be.

Though it wouldn’t have mattered even if he had. Jess and Josh were down there, and they needed to find them. 

When they first entered the valley, everyone looked at them warily. Mike knew why. There was only two of them, and they didn’t seem to have any reason to be here beyond causing trouble. All the different packs occupied their own space in the valley, and traveling around them without outwardly challenging them was clearly putting everyone on edge.

This whole valley put both him and Emily on edge, too. It stunk of blood, of death, and fights could be heard all over. There was a lawlessness, mixed in with a respect for laws that the rest of the world had long since shed. 

Mike could feel ever muscle in him tense, ready for the fight he knew was coming, and he was sure Emily felt the same way. He couldn’t imagine where Jess and Josh were, down here, and he was worried for them.

It took more than a day for them to find Jess and Josh. The valley was huge, occupying the space between the mountains, and the rocky outcroppings and rugged terrain would’ve taken a while for them to navigate even without having to navigate the other packs.

By the time they finally found Jess and Josh, Mike was ready to snap. But they had finally found them. Or, more accurately, they found the pack that _had_ them.

“Give us back our pack members.” Emily had growled out. Mike stood next to her, eyeing the other packs around them. This was going to turn into a fight, he just knew it, and he needed to know who was going to involve themselves.

“That’s not how this works.” That must have been the other pack’s alpha. “You want my pack, you challenge me for it.” He snarled.

Mike stepped forward, a growl bubbling up from deep in his gut. “We don’t want you pack. Just the members of it that belong to us.”

Josh had his head down, and Mike could see a nasty scratch forming along his side. Jess was half curled around him, but she refused to bend her head. There’d clearly been a fight.

Part of him was proud of them, but it was drowned out by a protective rage he could feel burning just below his skin, his fur, a rage that demanded to be let out, that had been screaming ever since they had entered this valley. 

“If you want them, fight me for it.” The other wolf had sneered. And well. That was just the challenge Mike had been waiting for.

The fight bloody, but short. Mike had rage pent up in him from the moment they’d set foot in this valley, and this alpha was already weakened from what must have been an impressive fight put up by Jess. Mike had him pinned in moments.

“ _Heel_.” He snarled down at the other alpha. “Give up, so I can take _my_ pack and _go_.” 

The other alpha just growled in return, shoving up against him. “You still don’t get it, _do you_. There’s no heeling. There’s no giving up. As long as I breathe, the fight is still going.” He lunged upwards, and Mike’s vision went _red_.

Mike had taken a life before. Once, when he was younger. Before he had a pack. There had been another stray, one who just wouldn’t quit.

He’d regretted that he had to do it, but it had been necessary.

He couldn’t even say, as he stepped over the dead body of the former alpha to where Jess and Josh were, that he regretted it this time. 

Josh’s head ducked even lower when he got to them, and Jess’s finally bent too, and the _alpha instinct_ roared in his ears. He’d spent years cultivating this strength, and he had long since devoted it to Sam. But there had been a time, before, where part of him _liked_ this. Liked the fear he could put in others’ hearts, the submission he got from being the strongest. Part of him _liked_ being the one in control. That was the part of him he needed to use to keep his family safe.

He could do this. He could protect them and get them home.

The rest of the former alpha’s pack he ignored. They tried to follow him, but he wanted nothing to do with them. A nearby pack swept in, wary but willing to take them in if he was rejecting them, and he let them. He didn’t want wolves following him that he couldn’t trust.

It had been easy, getting to Jess and Josh. No one had disturbed him and Emily, as they made their way through. 

But he had shed blood now, and he could feel the eyes following them in a new way. He knew getting out would be a whole different story. 

Night fell. He and Emily had been walking for days, barely resting, and he could tell Jess and Josh were exhausted from the fight they had been in, too. But he knew better than to let his guard down here. They found a pack-less piece of land, a half cave underneath a rock, and chose there to rest for the night.

But it wouldn’t be a restful night. Emily offered to stay up, to keep watch, but there was a level of adrenaline still coursing through Mike’s veins that he knew meant he wouldn’t be able to rest, so he told her to sleep while she could.

It was 30 minutes before the next alpha showed up. Mike was surprised they gave him that long.

This fight wasn’t to the death. He had the other alpha pinned 10 minutes in, and snarled at them to leave him and his pack alone. Clearly they took the warning- and the mercy- and fled into the night.

He turned back to where Emily was hovering over Josh and Jess, and snarled when he saw another wolf encroaching.

 _So that’s how they wanted to play this. He could play dirty too_.

By the time morning had risen, he had fought five more fights in this valley, and gotten about an hours’ worth of sleep. He made Emily swear to wake him up if another wolf even thought about approaching, and even then he barely rested.

He doubted he would rest much in the coming days, either. 

When the sun rose they set out walking again. He didn’t want to spend any more time in this valley than was necessary. He could feel the bloodlust settling in under his skin, the acceptance of what he would have to do for the pack. He didn’t want it to settle in too deep. 

He wasn’t sure how he’d come back from it if it did.

* * *

After their first night, as their first day as a full pack in the valley went on, Emily was struck by how lucky they were that Sam had sent Mike, and not Chris, with her to find Jess and Josh.

She knew that with what was going on at home, Sam had considered it, before decided that she could handle the home front well enough, and that not knowing what they would face meant she should send Mike.

Chris wouldn’t have been able to do what Mike did. He might have been born a wolf, and he might have been strong, but he’d never been this cutthroat. This bloodthirsty.

Emily was, but she knew she couldn’t win all the fights Mike was winning.

The thing about Mike was he had all the brutality, all the willingness to play dirty, that she did, but he a strength that soared around him, that normally meant he didn’t need it. Here, though, he needed both.

They were nine fights into the valley. The blood had seeped into his fur, matted it down, until he was barely recognizable, until he _looked_ like the beast mothers’ warned their pups about.

Every fight added to it. He wasn’t holding himself back anymore: he couldn’t afford to. She could tell in the way he moved, the way he snarled at anyone who even looked at Josh. A wolf had come, the next night, tried to pin Josh down, dominate him, use that against Mike.

There hadn’t even been a fight that time. That wolf had barely had time to issue a challenge before Mike had ripped his throat out.

After that, Josh wasn’t allowed to leave Mike’s side except when he was fighting.

It was taking a toll on all of them, being in the valley, but none more so than the two of them. She could see it in the way Josh flinched, whenever another wolf appeared too close, in the way Mike seemed more and more feral every day.

 _There’s a place in the woods, where the wolves become more beast than man. Where they forget themselves_.

Emily could see how that could happen if you got stuck here for too long. 

It was day 3, when they’d barely made it a day’s walk through the valley, having to stop every 10 minutes to fight a new pack, that Josh made a suggestion.

“Maybe…you guys should just leave me.” He wouldn’t look at any of them as he said it, and even from the other side of Jess- they’d taken to flanking them as they walked, Jess and Josh between Mike and Emily- even from the other side, Emily could feel the tension in Mike rise.

“ _And why would we do that_.” It was a growl, probably more threatening than he meant it to be, and Josh immediately lowered his head, almost tripping over himself to submit, to appease.

“I just….some of them are coming because of me, they can smell the omega on me.” It was true. Some of them had even been daring enough to say it. Josh’s status as the omega- his pure lack of strength, of power inside of him- was like a beacon to the other packs. “You’d get out faster.”

“We are not having this discussion.” Mike said it flatly, but there was a power in his voice he didn’t normally use. A power he hadn’t shut off since the first fight. No one dared to argue with him.

The next alpha that challenged him was torn apart in under a minute, and Emily knew it took everything in Josh’s power not to roll over, not to try and _appease_ and _fix_.

She wouldn’t say Mike took to being an alpha _well_. He took to being an alpha scarily- there was something inside him growing with every fight, this bloodthirsty thing that she had a feeling they would have a hard time locking away once they were out of here.

But it enabled him to do what he needed to do, to keep them all safe. It enabled him to take fight after fight, to snarl and bite and slash and _win_ , and just keep winning fight after fight, to tear other wolves apart with little thought or feeling.

And that’s what he did. Every day, and every night, and every moment he needed to. He fought, and tore through anyone who thought they could hurt them, claim them, make them _anyone other than his_.

In the end it took 7 days to reach the edge of the valley. By the time they did, Mike was barely recognizable, a hulking beast covered in scratches and blood. He hadn’t spoken more than two words in the last two days. And the tension ran tight through his body.

He was more beast than wolf. For the first time Emily was afraid what would happen when he tried to change back to human.

She knew he hadn’t slept more than a few hours in the past couple of days. Knew he was running on empty- they both were. 

Jess had taken to cowering next to her at all hours, and she knew it wasn’t fear of the alphas. It was guilt, because they’d come after because, and that was how they ended up here. Emily didn’t blame her. She knew Josh had reassured her more than once that he didn’t blame her. 

But there was no asking Mike, not now, not while they were still here, and Emily knew it was weighing on Jess. 

Of course, when they reached the edge of the valley is when it call came to head.

One last pack challenged them. But when the alpha appeared, and Jess snarled instead of cowering, Emily knew they had their answer as to why they were here in the first place.

“You’ve made quite a name for yourself.” The other alpha started. Mike looked between him and Jess, his lips already curling back, his teeth in a snarl. The other alpha dipped his head in deference- a sign he was not yet challenging him.

“I’m Montgomery.” He introduced himself by just his pack name, as they’d learned was common here. “And I don’t have any fight with you. Just her.” He nodded towards Jess. “I turned her, way back when. Around here, that makes her mine. I’m happy to let the rest of you,” he turned his gaze to Josh, and the growl that bubbled out of Mike made the other wolves around them flinch, “go, with no fight, if only you’ll turn her over to me.” 

“You _left me_!” Jess snarled out, stepped forward next to Mike before he could respond, her hackles raised. “You turned me and _abandoned me_ , and now you think you have some sort of _claim to me_?” 

Mike looked at her for a long moment, before turning back to the alpha. “You heard her.” He said slowly, every word a growl.

“And yet.” Montgomery continued. “I still have claim to her. Are you going to fight me on this?”

“Yes.” The word was barely recognizable in the growl. 

Montgomery lifted his head and stepped forward in challenge. He was every bit as big as Mike, if not quite as threatening, and scattered throughout his reddish brown fur scars could be seen. He clearly had been living this life a while.

But Mike was a demon. 

It was the longest and bloodiest fight yet. There were flashes of teeth, and blood splattered everywhere, and then the fight finally seemed over, Montgomery on the ground underneath Mike. He was still looking at Jess, though, who was growling at him, and after a moment there was a flash of teeth, and a howl of defeat, and then. Well.

Montgomery wouldn’t be looking at anyone anymore.

One last life before they could leave. 

They did leave the valley, after that. Emily kept an eye on Mike- after that last fight it was like most of the strength he’d been using to carry himself through was sapped out of him. He hadn’t slept in days, and they’d only had so much to eat.

They needed to get home, fast.

They got home in almost the same amount of time they’d taken to get to the valley. She wasn’t sure how any of them found it in them to make the run. Maybe it was just the fear they all carried underneath their skin, that being out in the woods was too exposed after what they’d been through.

They’d transformed back to human as soon as they’d arrived home. It was the longest any of them had stayed transformed for a while- normally they opted to switch back and forth fairly often- and she could see the hesitation in Mike’s form, the reluctance to give up the wolf. 

When they made it inside it was clear Sam had questions. But they were tired, all four of them, tired and hungry and dirty. Emily had disappeared into the kitchen immediately- she planned to eat everything they had, was only willing to share it with Jess, Josh, and Mike. Mike disappeared upstairs, more like than not to shower, and Josh dutifully followed him, as he had been doing since that night in the valley.

Emily had a feeling he was going to just sit on the floor of the bathroom, and well. She couldn’t blame him. As soon as Mike disappeared from her view she felt antsy, too, and a little on edge. She couldn’t imagine how he felt. 

Eventually, after they had all been fed, they ventured off to bed. They technically all had their own rooms- it was a big cabin- but Emily wasn’t surprised when Jess followed her into her room, and over Jess’s shoulder she could see Josh do the same to Mike. 

She even less surprised when she herself woke up in a panic later than night, had to fumble to turn the light on and remember where she was. Jess was awake, too, and after a moment of debating they found themselves venturing into Mike’s room.

Neither of them were surprised when he immediately growled, before realizing who it was. Of course he was awake. 

He was in wolf form, sitting at the foot of the bed, Josh curled up at the top, asleep. After a moment, Jess joined him. Emily came and sat next to Mike. 

“You need to sleep.” Emily said quietly, so as not to wake Jess, who had immediately passed back out, or Josh, who she imagined hadn’t slept well at all prior to this. 

“Can’t.” It sounded more growl than not. Emily wasn’t surprised by that, either.

“We both should try to.” She ventured. Mike just shook his head, looking over at Jess and Josh.

Emily ran a hand through her hair. “We could…ask Sam to come sit awake for us.” She’d thought about it a couple times before she went to bed. She knew she at least would feel better. Maybe it would allow Mike to feel like he could transform back to human again.

Mike just shook his head again. 

“Sam doesn’t need to know what happened.”

* * *

By the time Emily had finished telling Sam what happened, they had arrived back at the cabin. 

It was a good thing, too, because a moment after they did Matt came tearing out of there, eyes wild, Ashley not far behind him. He stopped as soon as he saw them. “ _Mike_.” He gasped out. “It’s Mike, and _Chris_.”

Emily tensed, looking at Sam before going to head in, but Sam shook her head. They weren’t going to need an audience for this, and she knew what to do now that she understood the issue. “Stay out here.” She said.

No one argued.

Sam headed into the house, and wasn’t surprised by what she found. Chris was on the floor, where he’d been thrown. His teeth were out, but it was clear he didn’t even really know why, and it was instinct more than anything, the wolf instinct to protect when attacked. Josh was half behind him, looking between him and Mike like he wanted to intervene but didn’t know how.

Mike was standing, half posed to strike, half posed to _transform_ , his lips pulled back into a snarl, the look in his eyes was a faraway, feral thing that she was surprised she hadn’t recognized sooner. It was the look of an animal cornered, that didn’t feel it had another way out. 

“Mike.” She growled. All three of them turned to her. She nodded subtly at Chris, who immediately took the opportunity to slip out of the room, grabbing Josh and pulling him out the door.

She’d have to remember to thank Chris, alter, for always being so understanding. 

Mike snarled as Chris and Josh exited, moving to follow them. Sam stepped in his way, staring him down. “Mike.” The growl was louder this time, backed by some of the power she held in her. She didn’t want this to be a fight, not really, but she knew now where his head was at.

He was still stuck in fight mode, still looking at everyone as a threat. He had gotten used to needing people to fear him, gotten used to bearing everything himself. She knew there had been a time in his life where that was all he’d known, and he’d returned to that headspace to get them out of the valley. She didn’t blame him- she was grateful he could do that to protect the pack. 

She just needed to remind him that he didn’t need to, now that he was home. That it wasn’t his place to.

He turned on her, a snarl rising out of his throat, his teeth bared at her. There was a moment, looking at him, when she understood what it was others saw, why they feared him so much.

But she wasn’t afraid. She never had been, and she wasn’t about to start now. 

He lunged at her. He was so much bigger, and physically stronger, but he was losing it and she knew it. And she was his alpha, and somewhere inside of him she knew _he_ knew it.

She used his own moment to spin him into the wall, her hand coming up to clasp the back of his neck, pull his head down slightly- a position of _submission_ \- as she stepped into his space, pressed against the side of him. She could feel his body shudder, an aborted half-attempt to shift, to become the wolf. 

“You’re _home_.” It was half a growl, half a whisper, but imbued with all the power she carried within her, the power she kept locked down inside. It was power she very rarely needed to wield- that’s not why people followed her. 

But it was power she had, nonetheless. 

“You’re _safe_.” It was less of a growl now. She could feel him growling under her hand, feel him jerk against where her hand gripped the back of his neck. He was stronger than her, physically, and she was comforted by the fact that he did not break free, did not try to transform again. He was coming back to himself. 

He was relaxing, his muscles untensing for what she imagined was the first time in three weeks. She could feel him leaning forward, against where his forehead was pressed to the wall, and she pulled him into her arms instead, so he was bent around her in a hug, his forehead coming to rest on her shoulder.

Moments like these she thought it would be useful to be taller.

“I know what you did to protect them.” She kept her voice steady and low, keeping one had firmly on the back of his neck while she spoke. “You did what you had to. You kept our pack safe.” She knew the deaths would weigh on him more than he would let on. He did what he had to, yes, but what he had to do was take lives, and that wasn’t nothing. “ _You did good_.” She pressed her cheek against the side of his head, rubbing lightly. It was an instinctual gesture, engrained in the wolves in them, a way to express pleasure and approval of actions the pack committed. 

The growl that had been bubbling in his chest since she first entered the room started to subside, and she was sure if she looked his fangs would finally be gone.

“You can let go now. You’re _home_.” She felt him relax a little more against her, and she carefully- and with great effort- maneuvered the two of them to the couch, pulling his head into her lap, still not removing her hand from the back of his neck.

She knew it was likely one of the only things keeping him grounded.

Her other hand she brushed through his hair. “You need to rest.” Her tone made it clear this was not something he should argue with her over, and he just nodded.

If this is what he needed, he needed her to imbue everything she said and did with a little more alpha power for a little while, it was a small price to pay for him getting their family home safe.

Speaking of their family, she wasn’t surprised when ten minutes later they started creeping back in. Emily took one look at the two of them and smiled, before throwing herself on the couch opposite them. Jess and Ashley both joined her, and Matt curled up in the singular armchair.

Chris sat at the other end of the sofa and nodded at her, and she even as she knew Mike would apologize to him tomorrow, she also knew all was already forgiven. Josh curled up next to Chris, and Sam smiled.

Anything price was worth them all being home safe.


	2. the deleted fight scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this chapter is actually an alternate take on the last scene of the story. this scene is the original scene, the very first thing envisioned for this series that is how this serious came to be, but when i was writing the story it no longer felt fitting. that being said, because it was the originally envisioned scene i still felt the need to write it and put it out there for everyone.
> 
> enjoy!

By the time Emily had finished telling Sam what happened, they had arrived back at the cabin.

It was a good thing, too, because a moment after they did Matt came tearing out of there, eyes wild, Ashley not far behind him. He stopped as soon as he saw them. “ _Mike_.” He gasped out. “It’s Mike, and _Chris_.”

Emily tensed, looking between Matt and Sam. Sam sighed. _So this was how it would have to be, then._

She headed into the house, the rest of the pack following close behind, and wasn’t surprised by what she found. Chris was on the floor, where he’d been thrown. His teeth were out, but it was clear he didn’t even really know why, and it was instinct more than anything, the wolf instinct to protect when attacked. Josh was half behind him, looking between him and Mike like he wanted to intervene but didn’t know how.

Mike was standing, half posed to strike, half posed to _transform_ , his lips pulled back into a snarl, the look in his eyes was a faraway, feral thing that she was surprised she hadn’t recognized sooner. It was the look of an animal cornered, that didn’t feel it had another way out.

“ _Mike_.” She growled. All three of them turned to her, Chris taking the moment Mike was distracted to pull himself up off the floor, grab Josh and back further into the kitchen.

The rest of the pack was clustered in between the front door and the kitchen, looking nervously between Chris, Sam, and Mike.

As soon as Mike saw Chris moving he lunged forward. But Sam knew he would. She stepped between them, using Mike’s momentum to redirect his movement, to throw him to the floor.

He growled from where he landed, snarling at her and pulling himself back up, lunging. He was all brutality and harsh movements, and he was physically bigger and stronger than her, but she could tell he wasn’t thinking, was running purely on instinct. If he had been thinking, he would’ve remembered.

This was never a fight he could win.

She spun out of the way as he lunged, stepping behind him to slam him into the wall. She heard someone- Matt maybe- gasp from behind her, but she ignored him. She could feel all the tension in the room rising, both Chris and Emily incredibly on age, their power seeping out of the skin as they watched their alpha and beta fight.

And Mike, well. He radiated all the raw power he’d clearly used to get them home safely, the power matched by none.

None except Sam, not that many knew that. Sam kept her power deep inside of her- she very rarely needed to wield it. Her power wasn’t why the pack followed her.

But it was power she had, nonetheless. And right now, it was beginning to become clear that it was power she was going to need to bring out, if she wanted to fix this.

Mike wrenched out of her grip, pulling her to the ground with him, snarling as he leaned it. He thought he had her pinned, was demanding submission. But she used his momentum again to her advantage, rolling him onto his back while pulling all of the power out from where she stored it deep within her.

In her peripherals, she could see Matt flinch, Emily’s eyes widen, could see Ashley take a half step back and Jess take a half step forward.

Chris and Josh were two of the only ones who had seen her at her full power before now.

She kept one hand just below Mike’s throat, where it met his chest, keeping him down, her teeth bared. He snarled up at her, and she snarled back in response. Sometimes the only way to combat the violence, the wolf inside them, was to show you were bigger and badder.

His whole body jerked upward, trying to buck her off, to regain control. She slid the hand up his throat to just below his jaw, her other hand coming down to hold down one of his arms. She could feel his body shifting underneath her, a breath away from transforming. She needed to do something, fast.

She leaned down, her mouth a hair's breadth away from his ear, and growled, imbuing within it all of the power she had in her, the frustration she felt over this happening to her pack.

Mike’s body went still at that.

“You’re _home_.” It was half a growl, half a whisper. She was still leaned over him, speaking only to him, even as she knew they still had an audience. “You’re _safe_.” It was less of a growl now. She could feel the stillness turn into limpness, his body finally relaxing- maybe for the first time since he’d gotten him. 

He was coming back to himself.

“I know what you did to protect them.” She kept her voice steady and low, moving her hand from his throat to the side of his face. “You did what you had to. You kept our pack safe.” She knew the deaths would weigh on him more than he would let on. He did what he had to, yes, but what he had to do was take lives, and that wasn’t nothing. “ _You did good_.” She pressed her cheek against the side of his head, rubbing lightly. It was an instinctual gesture, engrained in the wolves in them, a way to express pleasure and approval of actions the pack committed.

“You can rest now.” They really shouldn’t stay on the floor. She pulled him, a little unsteady, to his feet, pulling him over to the couch and placing his head in her lap, her hand gravitated towards the back of his neck.

It wasn’t often Sam had to use the force of an alpha to get things done. That wasn’t how they worked, her and the pack. But if it was what she needed to do for Mike right now, it was a small price to pay for him getting their family home safe.

Speaking of their family, she wasn’t surprised when ten minutes later they started creeping back in. Emily took one look at the two of them and smiled, before throwing herself on the couch opposite them. Jess and Ashley both joined her, and Matt curled up in the singular armchair.

Chris sat at the other end of the sofa and nodded at her, and she even as she knew Mike would apologize to him tomorrow, she also knew all was already forgiven. Josh curled up next to Chris, and Sam smiled.

Anything price was worth them all being home safe.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading ! i'm sorry this took 3 years to come out, i hope it was worth it.  
> pls leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed !


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